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Back when I first converted my drafting table to a dining room table, I knew the table was slightly higher than a typical dining room table. See, a standard dining room table is 30″ high but when I converted my drafting table, it sat at 32″ high. I didn’t think 2 inches would make a huge difference so I ordered standard dining room table chairs. Well, they felt a little too small but generally weren’t that bad. But, I decided to keep an eye out for taller chairs. And then I started to learn all the rules that determine a chair’s height…

A quick summary of dining room chair height rules: chairs typically sit 12 inches below the height of the table surface. So a standard dining room table at 30 inches high would have chairs with a seat at 18 inches high. Of course, kitchen bars then became popular; kitchen bars are typically 42 inches high so “bar height” chairs sit at 30 inches high. But then the new trend is for the kitchen counter to extend and simply have seating at counter height. Counter height is typically 36 inches high so counter height chairs are typically 24 inches high.

So back to my table. Following the standard rule, my 32 inch tall table should have chairs with a 20 inch seat height. Well, that is close to the standard table height and standard chair height but I already knew those chairs felt a little small at my table. But “bar height” or “bistro height” chairs would be way too tall. So I started looking for used “counter height” chairs. I ended up finding some that were a great price and a good look so I brought these home:

From the photos I thought I would like the fabric on these chairs but when I saw them in person it was pretty clear I wasn’t going to put up with the fabric for long. Although I liked the color, it was a weird texture- it felt almost like velcro?- and the solid color showed some small, old stains. And since I loved the leather sofa I just added to my table (it’s SUPER easy to clean), I thought it might be nice to reupholster these chairs in a vinyl or leather of my choosing.

So I went to my local fabric store. They didn’t have any leather, and I didn’t like the selection of vinyl, so I found myself in the “outdoor fabric” section. This stuff is interesting since it is slightly water repellent, meant for furniture, and came in lots of bright colors and patterns. So I found one I was happy with and this happened:

This was a very simple and easy reupholster project and a great intro for me since I have no upholstery experience. All it took was the fabric and my staple gun:

First, I unscrewed the seat of the chair- 3 screws and that was it (the screws were in the middle of the seat structure- not the ones holding the chair leg):

Then I cut the fabric with enough to spare:

Folded the fabric while I pulled it tight around the cushion:

Stapled it in place:

And repeated on all four sides:

There was no real magic to the corners, just me fussing with it until I felt it looked good, then stapling it in place. I screwed the seats back onto the chair and hooray! I LOVE THESE CHAIRS!

Of course, the counter height chair is a little tall for my table so now I am debating whether I should cut down the chairs or not….

For whatever reason, our house came with a ton of weathered wood littered throughout the yard… and the garden shed…. and the garage. We have been clearing some out, re-purposing other pieces, and more is still sitting around.

Well, I had these two pieces of weathered wood and I didn’t know what to do with them:

Then, one of my favorite bloggers did this post and I suddenly had my inspiration! I cleaned the boards, followed her instructions (and yes! It really was that easy) and voila; printed wood through wax paper transfer!

A popular post currently on pinterest is how to make a wall ruler to measure your kids growth. There are so many examples of this- see here, here, here, here– you get the idea.

Well, my son was about to have his first birthday, and I wanted something to measure his growth so I decided to jump on this trend and make my own wall ruler:

I didn’t do much different in mine from the other examples you’ll find, but I did take a super easy route with the numbers- not the craftiest method, for sure, but an easy one.

What you’ll need:

(1) 1×6 board (I used pine), 6 ft long

wood stain of your choice (I used gunstock stain so the ruler would match our furniture- walnut stain would probably look more like a traditional ruler color)

Clear finish (I used polycrylic for easy water clean-up)

1″ block letter stickers- available for signs at most office and home improvement stores.

First, I stained my board with (2) coats of my chosen stain: gunstock- sorry, I forgot to photograph that part.

Next, I marked my board in 1 inch increments.

Then I used the capital i(s) to mark the 1 ft increments (my board will be mounted 6 inches off the floor so the first foot marker started 6 inches from the edge of the board), and numbered the board (however, I ended up putting the numbers on upside down from a traditional ruler and corrected that in a later step)

Next, I took the Es from the block letters and cut off the horizontal portion to use as markers at 3, 6, and 9 inch locations:

And cut the vertical portion of the E into several small squares to use as the rest of the inch markers:Of course, here is where I realized I had my numbers upside down from how I wanted them, so I removed the numbers and positioned new ones. Then, using clear coat, I sealed on top of the stain and the numbers/ inch markers:

The board was mounted 6″ above the floor, and now on every birthday my son will have his height recorded as well as a hand print:

The last thing I plan to do to this board will come a few years from now- when my son first learns to write. I plan on him having him write his name (hopefully with backward Es and squiggly lines) and I will enlarge his name and transfer it to the ruler. Hopefully this will make the wall ruler look like the ruler I had in school which, of course, we were required to write our names on.

Trained as an architect and a massage therapist, I am still trying to figure out what to do with my life. I may not know how I want to spend my days, but I love spending my evenings crafting and projecting. This blog records these adventures. Continue reading →